Teaching Experience
Teaching Philosophy
Students engage in applied learning activities that emphasize personal experiences and popular culture.
Instructor of Record
Intermediate Statistics
Florida Atlantic University
Fall 2023
This is a hands-on course designed to let students practice testing research questions through statistical tests. Students learn to apply theories and concepts of intermediate statistics using the computer software program, SPSS. Each week, students learn conduct a new statistical test on a social science research question.
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This course is intended to complement the Experimental Design and Statistics Inference course where students conduct statistical tests by hand calculations.
Psychology of Human Development
Florida Atlantic University
Summer 2022, Summer 2023
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Human development courses provide a unique opportunity for students to learn about themselves. Major themes surrounding developmental theory and research are discussed. A simulated virtual parenting program is used throughout the course to illustrate concepts. Students raise their own virtual child by parenting decisions. Groups of parents meet biweekly in a parent support group to discuss how parenting practices have impacted their virtual child. Personal identities (gender, culture, age) are addressed in the context of parenting choices, ultimately leading to differences in developmental outcomes.
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This course serves as a foundation for other developmental psychology courses at Florida Atlantic University.
Teaching Assistantships
Psychology of Women
Florida Atlantic University
Teaching Assistant, Spring 2024
Social Psychology
Florida Atlantic University
Teaching Assistant, Spring 2021​
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Experimental Design and Statistical Inference
Florida Atlantic University
Teaching Assistant, Summer 2021
Teaching Assistant, Fall 2020
Behavioral Statistics
Stetson University
Teaching Assistant, Spring 2017
Courses in Development
Are Minnie and Mickey Changing? Gender Roles in Disney Films Across Time
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In recent years, the Walt Disney company has expanded character portrayal. Specifically, the roles of female characters are expanding. New princesses continue to be created with qualities that are substantially different from those in the 20th century and old princesses have been reinvented through live action remakes. Some new characters, altogether, have ignited controversy in pop culture.
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This course integrates feminist theory with social and developmental psychology to identify how and why Disney characters have changed over time. Students will interact with Disney films in small groups, ultimately leading to a semester-long qualitative analysis of their selected films. Students will write a research proposal and present their pilot qualitative data to the class at the end of the semester.
The Impact of Media on Child and Adolescent Development
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In our digital world, children and adolescents routinely interact with advanced media devices. This course will examine how media has influenced both child and adolescent development. Students will discuss outcomes associated with media including media's impact on language, executive functions, socioemotional, and education outcomes. Students will learn about the possible of the benefits (e.g., task switching) and risks (e.g., lack of critical thinking) of media use as well as the hotly debated topic of violent media exposure.
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Journal articles and TEDTalks will serve as weekly content assignments. Clips from shows and movies will be used as prompts for weekly writing assignments.
Adolescence as a Sensitive Period
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Adolescence is time of rapid change. This course integrates biological, psychological, social, and cognitive changes to understand unique development during adolescence. Students will learn the complexities of adolescence and gain insight to their personal experiences. Topics covered will include the biological changes, the importance of peers, the role of parents, peer influence, internalizing symptoms, and externalizing symptoms.
A final course assignment will focus on one of the major course concepts. Students will watch a movie about their chosen topic and apply concepts directly to scenes in that movie.
No Pain No Gain: The Sports Paradox
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Sports are associated with a host of positive outcomes: physical health, social support, self-esteem. Yet many athletes experience the dark side of sports: the female athlete triad, performance anxiety, exercise overvaluation. This course is designed to examine the benefits and risks of playing sports across different competitive levels. Risk content will be accompanied by well-known sport psychology treatment plans.
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At the end of the semester, students will create a group video presentation that demonstrates one of the course concepts for an athlete, and identify an appropriate treatment plan for the athlete according to sport psychology research.
